No One Can Blame You
by MurdocHasAHeart
Summary: Life had never been very kind to Claire. It seemed like no one in her school understood her behavior, and the one woman who knew about her hidden desires for another world was certifiably insane. When she suggests a book, how can Claire refuse?
1. Prologue

"Claaaaire! You've been in there for three hours!" Toby had never been a very patient man. There he sat, across from the white and numbered door, twiddling his thumbs impatiently as calm-looking nurses walked by. They had come to visit his sister, Sarah, in the institute for the criminally insane... Toby, actually, could never remember a day in his lifetime when she hadn't been in this cell. Sure, she'd tried to convince them she was sane plenty of times, but then they'd catch her talking to one of those imaginary friends... Hoggle was her favorite to talk to. 

It was all weird if you asked him.

And still, his sixteen-year-old daughter insisted on visiting the crazy aunt. It had come to the point of where Claire visited obsessively... She never told what Sarah and she discussed, but Toby sometimes didn't even want to know. After all, Claire was a teen... She needed her space. And Toby had problems of his own anyways. He and Uma were getting divorced and Toby knew that had to be hard on Claire, their youngest of the two twins. Missy had never cared about her Aunt anyways... Toby liked her.

Meanwhile, inside the room, a whole different set of thoughts were occuring.

"Ludo's in this room..?"

"Oh yes. He thinks you're pretty. He has ever since you first came to visit me as a little girl."

"...I find that so hard to believe..."

"But, you must! He's such a sweetheart and he'd love to talk to you one day." Sarah's brown eyes watched the girl closely as she looked around, seemingly unfazed by her father's yelling. What a stupid boy. He had never been a good apple, and Sarah often hated herself for not taking Jareth up on his offer... Was a boy really that worth it?

Not at all.

Her gaze never left the young teenager as she rose from the ground, grey eyes exploring the pearl walls of the asylum as if they had changed from the last time. Her face scrunched and for a moment she began to walk towards the corner in which Ludo was perched, his shaggy orange fur moving up and down with each massive breath. Sarah's hopes soared upwards at the mere thought of Claire being able to speak with her best friends, but at the sight of the girl's anger Sarah realized that she had not yet been tapped...

Perhaps she just needed a nudge. Sarah began to crawl from the center of the room, towards her niece, smiling warmly. "Claire."

"Yes, Auntie?" Her voice was stoic, cold, much like Sarah had first been when she was placed into this awful room. The eyes of the porclain beauty were stormy grey, skin flawless as it ran across her... Toby's genes mixed with those of the German wench produced a lovely child with hair of chocolate and a heart of stone. According to Claire she had never been with a boy... Never had a crush... She had been alone and involved in books all of her life.

"I want you to find a book in your father's house... It will be very old," The gray-haired woman told her teenage darling. "and the cover will probably be faded. It's red and it's titled 'The Labyrinth'. I want you to read it when you're absolutely alone and feel like there is nowhere else to go,"

Sarah paused, staring at the girl's face for any sign of emotion. At first there was none before a small eagerness flickered deep within them, and Sarah brought herself to continue with a widening grin. "Say every line the main character does. It will seem stupid at first, but I want you to. Can you do that for me?" Claire scoffed, just as she had expected her to. A small smirk lined her features, but when she realized that Sarah was not going to reply without an answer. "...Yes, Auntie."

* * *

"GET OUT! Get out now!"

"I'd never want to stay if you /paid/ me..."

"GOD! GO! NOW!"

Claire clutched her new novel in her hands, darting out of the house as her father screamed after her. She'd almost forgotten what she'd done already, as all the fights seemed to blend together now-a-days. Life had never been very kind to Claire, and when something unfortunate happened it was rarely a new (or memorable) occurance.

She skipped down the wooden steps of their home, ballerina shoes snug on her feet as her skirt licked at her heels. It flew behind her like a billowing cloak in the wind, the hem of a white and long-sleeved shirt falling over the start of her low-rider bottoms. As she made her way to the grassy fields (trying to ignore the ominous clouds above) of the park Claire began to ponder on the words of her aunt.

More alone then ever... Lonliness was something that Claire had become accustomed to. Her parents worshipped Missy for her badass ways and somewhat ignored the bookworm that was Claire. She festered within herself and was a nobody in school and at her very own residence... If she /was/ mentioned it was as 'the girl who hated everyone' or 'the bitch'. Sometimes it was even 'the chick who hangs at the asylum'.

It had become something that Claire was not only used to, but embraced... If someone spoke to her she acted as a bitch to them. If a child asked for tutoring lessons she blantantly declined. She froze herself to the world, and she hardly regretted it. Books were better anyways, and books couldn't feel bad.

Approaching the familiar wooden bench, Claire opened the old leather book and set it between two fingers as she sat down. "Through dangers unknown... And hardships un-numbered... I have come for the child that you have stolen..." She gave a great sigh, thinking herself foolish as her eyes scanned over the lines of the Goblin King her aunt talked of so many times before... Golden hair, beautiful, mis-matched eyes... Just as Sarah had claimed. Claire blinked slowly, eyes feeling a tad heavy due to her rough day, she supposed. "For.. For my will is as strong as your's, and my kingdom as great..."

Her hazy eyes scanned over the text, pausing for a moment so that she could lay herself down more comfortably suiting her body's weak condition. "You have..." Slow blink. "No..." Blink. "Power over..." And then there was nothing, the teenage girl falling into slumber in the middle of the park as thunder crackled above and a snowy owl sailed above her.


	2. Too Much Rejection

He had never felt so humiliated. Decieved, defeated, and dishonored by a mere human girl, no older than sixteen years...He had welcomed her to his waiting arms with the willingness of a lover and she had rejected him like some common fanboy. 

Well, Jareth the Goblin King moved stars for /no one/!

That's what love allowed, didn't it? A gap to be filled or left gaping - an opportunity for someone to hurt you. No matter what you did it was never good enough for them... Always more, more, more... Greedy humans. Greedy lovers...

After his Sarah had abandoned him he had allowed his loving parents to choose a suitor, almost immediately hating her golden Fae hair and unearthly eyes. They weren't like the flaws of humans, and Jareth couldn't stand the perfection of it all. Lovely skin, gentle curves. Where was the flaw? The fear? The longing... She wanted his body and that was all she desired, which was entertaining at first but irritating in the long run.

In no time at all Jareth tired of her, and when their first night of intimacy came around Jareth had a bit of an 'accident'. As the Goblin King it was expected of him to be rough and un-tame-able. It only made sex even more dangerous for his lover if he wasn't careful and under control the whole time. In a firey passion of uncontrolled and unbothered with lust Jareth killed his pre-determined wife and didn't even bother to feign grief.

For years he watched the human world, and stared as his wanna-be lover was convicted of insanity... Twice he asked her to return, and twice she refused... In no time she was aging splendidly and Jareth was continuing the brutal and self-mutilating attacks on his heart by watching it happen.

But who would've thought that a new girl would enter the picture? Two of a kind in appearence once made their way into the pure asylum, different auras and personalities showing in their very body language as their father (the insufferable little baby who had plauged Sarah in her youth) guided them in.

One was staring wide-eyed at Sarah, barking out questions like the aging woman was some kind of science experiment. The other, and this sparked an interest in the Goblin King... The other was staring at the corner where all of Sarah's "imaginary" friends had retreated. At first Jareth believed it a coincidence. Any child could notice a darker shadow in the room. It wasn't until the twin (whom Toby addressed as Claire) walked right up to the corner and stopped in front of the disgusting dwarf that he suspected her.

Sarah had seen it too, he knew that she had. How could someone not? Even her father instantly regarded her as strange. In fact, he seemed to praise the other, outgoing, twin over her observant sister and tried to get Sarah more acquainted with the one known as Missy.

But Sarah was no idiot, and Jareth knew that she knew...

As the years progressed Claire seemed to visit the asylum a lot more then her father cared for, and she often endured verbal abuse either before or after her sessions with her aunt. Jareth, becoming bored with Sarah (for the first time in her life) started to become curious about this new girl... He followed his ever watchful gaze to this young niece, watching her mature in the same ways his preicous Sarah had.

His anger, however, surged slightly when the girl's fifteenth birthday came around the corner. The banner that hung over their table said 'Happy Birthday, Missy!' And he found himself wondering why Claire's name was not on that banner when it was definately her birthday as well. Easily he located her burning red aura in the tiny home, realizing that it was radiating fiercely and Claire was reading a new novel today.

She was trying to mask the fact that she cared about the party with an emotionless facade, as she always did, but auras never lied... Claire was angry, and the slight blue tinge in the mix of her rage spoke of a small sorrow. She wanted her parents' affection, yet hated it? What odd creatures they were, humans.

He really took time to look at her that day... The way her porcelain skin hit the light in that elegant way, and her gray eyes careful scanned over the text. It seemed that reading such an easy novel brought her peace, as the more she did so the less vibrant her red feeling became. That was good, very good, but Jareth found her so much more alluring when angered.

Her eyes narrowed, her fists clenched to the point of pale strain... But the most intoxicating thing about the humanoid being was her natural smell... Her blood. It was odd for a Fae to feel attracted to blood, and much less, a human's blood. But it was not the sort of attraction that a vampire desired, where it felt as though it needed to drink or it would die. No, Jareth merely enjoyed the scent, and when she became angry she would participate in random spurts of rageful violence like punching a wall or digging her nails into her palms. Even something as simple as her biting her lip drew blood from her tender skin... And boy did it smell good.

After he had resumed watching Sarah for a while he was not at all surprised to see Claire in her cell more now then ever before. After all, when one hates her home more then anything who does one turn to? Especially if that girl has no friends... As Sarah's voice lowered, Jareth found himself mildly straining to hear her from his perch outside Sarah's window. In his owl form he had limits... Damn bird.

_"Speak the words,"_

His alert was up, and his guard was slammed. Why was Sarah doing this to him? She knew what happened when a woman said the words. Jareth could feel himself slipping back into the black hole of affection and he refused to fall to the bottom again. Angrily, he swore and reassured himself that he would not become attached this time. Things would be different.

As he flew to the park to wait for the girl to arrive Jareth found himself thinking on Sarah's angle. Did she want to torture him? Was she looking out for her niece's happiness? Had she planned the girl's personality out to make him fall for her prior or did she assume merely speaking the words would do the trick? Sure, they helped the woman's case, but that was it...

Sooner then he had expected he watched as the girl walked calmly into the park, far different then Sarah's dramatic run, a different garb falling over her casually. She sat on the bench where Sarah had acted out her own death scenes, opening the book and beginning to speak...

An over-whelming feeling overcame the ruthless Goblin King and just as before he found her voice the most beautiful sound in this wretched human world, begging for more in his silent mind, whether it be a scream, groan, or more of the words... Just... More.

_"I have fought my way here beyond the Goblin City,"_

Wait. If she learned the last line what would happen? Would she do as Sarah did and realize there was a way to escape him? Determined not to let that happen, the spoiled King flapped his wings and squwaked angrily, blowing a soft Fae spell through the very air she breathed... Now he could only hope.

Yes... Yes, she was getting tired now! So soon, so soon... And she would be his. No more Sarah, no more Missy, no friends to help her escape... No brother for her to worry about rescuing, and certainly no knowledge of her own freedom. Claire would be different... And Claire would belong to him at any moment.

The tension. Jareth felt like he could cut it with a knife and eat it for breakfast as he listened to her speak almost all of those deciding words, watching anxiously as she fought pointlessly against his Fae sleep. And finally, as though all time had slowed just to annoy him, the scarlet book fell from her hand and thudded on the grass. He glanced around briefly before transforming in the tree, hopping down and strolling to the slumbering beauty. He lowered a gloved hand, brushing a strand of hair from her face gently even though he knew she couldn't wake if she wanted to. Leaning down, Jareth felt it only manners to pick up the book for her, lifting the girl into his arms as lightning crackled above. With one final glance down at the pale form in his grasp, Jareth closed his eyes and thought of home.


End file.
